


How Do You Like Your Pancakes?

by Selenay



Category: The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Assistant Darcy Lewis, Community: trope_bingo, F/F, Femslash, Femslash February, Flirting, Rescues gone wrong, Sharing Body Heat, Stranded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-16
Updated: 2013-02-16
Packaged: 2017-11-29 13:05:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/687279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selenay/pseuds/Selenay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy pulled the poncho a little tighter. "It's not that I'm not grateful, obviously. Thank you, not being a Hydra prisoner is awesome. It's just that my cell in the Hydra base was warmer than this. And it didn't have as many rats."</p><p>"There aren't any rats here," Natasha said dryly.</p><p>"Yeah, because they all died from hypothermia." Darcy paused. "Seriously, how are you not cold?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Do You Like Your Pancakes?

**Author's Note:**

> For the Huddle for Warmth square of my [trope bingo card](http://selenay936.tumblr.com/post/39382968348/trope-bingo). And also because it's Femslash February and there aren't enough Darcy/Natasha fics in the world.

"OK, this is the worst rescue ever."

Darcy wrapped her arms tighter around her body and glared.

Natasha didn't move from her station at the entrance to the cave they were sheltering in. That was the part that was really pissing Darcy off right now: Natasha was wearing her thin cat suit thing and she didn't show any sign of feeling the cold.

Meanwhile Darcy was wearing jeans, a thick sweater and a poncho and she could still feel every cold gust of wind. Not that she usually minded Natasha's uniform, it definitely had its appeal, but right now it was just making her feeling colder. Nobody should look that comfortable standing around in a skimpy cat suit in the middle of fucking February.

Darcy pulled the poncho a little tighter. "It's not that I'm not grateful, obviously. Thank you, not being a Hydra prisoner is awesome. It's just that my cell in the Hydra base was warmer than this. And it didn't have as many rats."

"There aren't any rats here," Natasha said dryly.

"Yeah, because they all died from hypothermia." Darcy paused. "Seriously, how are you not cold?"

"I'm Russian."

"That...is not a helpful answer."

Natasha shrugged gracefully.

That was the other thing making Darcy cranky: despite several traumatic hours of failed rescues and running and helicopters exploding instead of carrying them to safety, Natasha was still calm and graceful. Apparently nothing ever phased her.

Darcy paused on that thought and decided that she probably didn't want to meet anything that could scare Natasha Romanov.

"How long before they send a new helicopter?" Darcy asked.

"Only another couple of hours," Natasha said.

She didn't move from her post at the entrance to the cave or even turn to look at Darcy. For the last hour she hadn't taken her eyes off the forest outside. Darcy was used to people who forgot about their surroundings when they concentrated. Jane had taken that to extreme levels but even Agent Coulson could get pretty focused and forget that people might need a bit of reassurance when shit got terrifying. It wasn't that Darcy needed someone to wrap her up in bubble wrap, but it would be nice to have a bit more to hang her hopes on than a vague promise of a helicopter maybe soonish.

Watching their original transport burst into flames and smash into the base that Natasha had been rescuing her from had shaken her more than she really wanted to admit.

Darcy shook herself and tried to think of something to talk about that wasn't how cold she was or how scared she was. "Does this kind of thing happen a lot?"

"What kind of thing?"

"Kidnapping innocent assistants," Darcy clarified. "I mean, it's not like I know anything useful unless Hydra wants to do some serious photocopying on SHIELD's budget. I wouldn't even be able to tell them about Jane's work because I mostly didn't understand more than the commas in any of her papers. So kidnapping me seems pretty pointless."

"Leverage," Natasha said briskly, then a little softer, "and you probably know more than you think."

It was hard to tell, but Darcy thought that _might_ have been a compliment. She was certainly going to take it as one.

"Is that why they sent you to find me?" she asked. "So I couldn't be leverage? It seems like overkill. You're a bona fide superhero."

There was a quiet chuckle. "Coulson wanted to send me, Clint, Steve, and every level four agent he could get his hands on. He was planning to incinerate that base from orbit if he thought it would work. Director Fury talked him into something less over the top."

"Oh. Wow." Darcy paused for a moment. "Seriously?"

"He doesn't take it well when his people get captured."

"I didn't think he liked me much."

Natasha turned a little, looking at Darcy for the first time since they'd arrived in the cave, and Darcy could see a hint of a smile. "He likes you. Sometimes it's hard to tell, but I've known him a long time. If he didn't like you, you'd be a filing clerk in one of the unsecured archives instead of his PA."

"Huh."

Natasha cocked her head. "Were you worried?"

Darcy snorted and waved a dismissal. "Of course not! It's just nice to hear it sometimes."

She shifted a little and grunted as the stone floor reminded her of the bruises she'd acquired during the panicked running from the burning Hydra base. It must have sounded worse than she thought because suddenly Natasha was right there, crouching beside her with a worried expression.

"Are you hurt?" she asked.

Darcy shrugged. "Just a bit bruised and this isn't the most comfortable place I've ever sat."

Instead of nodding and going back to her guard post, Natasha's frown deepened and she reached out to touch Darcy's cheek where she'd been backhanded during her capture. Darcy shivered and flinched.

"Jesus fuck, you're frozen." Darcy captured Natasha's hand, which felt a lot colder than it should. "Does being Russian make you a little bit crazy? Because it sure as shit doesn't make you impervious to cold."

Natasha blinked but didn't try to take her hand back.

"Come here," Darcy instructed firmly. "Unless you think Yogi Bear is likely to attack us at some point, standing guard isn't going to help."

"There could still be Hydra-"

"I don't see how letting yourself turn into a very pretty icicle is going to help you shoot better." Darcy reluctantly pulled off her poncho. "If it makes you feel better, we can pretend I was the one in danger of dying from hypothermia and you were just helping me out."

"Sharing body heat?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a cliched but awesome excuse."

No indecision showed on Natasha's carefully blank face, but she didn't move for a long moment and Darcy could almost feel the internal debate she was having with herself. Darcy didn't realise that she was holding her breath until Natasha moved to sit next to her and the tightness in Darcy's chest started to relax. She held up the poncho and Natasha nodded.

Wrapping the poncho around both of them wasn't easy, it wasn't really big enough, but Darcy was determined and she could feel the slight tremors in Natasha's body that told her how cold Natasha really was. They ended up curled around each other with the poncho held tight to keep cold gusts of air out. Darcy tried not to flinch when Natasha's cold nose touched her neck.

"Sorry," Natasha said quietly, her breath ghosting warm across Darcy's throat.

"Not a problem." Darcy smiled into Natasha's hair. "Just give a girl a warning when you're going in for the nuzzle with your ice cube nose."

If she hadn't been wrapped around Natasha like an octopus, Darcy probably wouldn't have felt the way she stiffened very slightly and seemed to hold herself more carefully. Natasha's breathing became shallower, maybe a little too controlled, and Darcy tightened her arms a little in case Natasha tried to run.

"Hey, I'm not objecting to the nuzzling," Darcy said quickly. "It's just that your nose is too cold. If you want to nuzzle when your nose is warmer, go right ahead."

She hesitated, trying to guess whether Natasha was about to retreat to the cave mouth again. Natasha didn't try to leave but she didn't relax either.

"I've said something really stupid, haven't I?" Darcy asked.

Natasha finally moved, propping herself up a little so Darcy could see her fact. "No. I'm just not sure whether you're flirting or very friendly."

Darcy narrowed her eyes. "Would it be a problem if I was flirting?"

"I'm...not sure," Natasha said slowly, thoughtfully. "What do you want from me?"

"What do people usually want when they flirt with you?"

"Information. Mercy. Revenge."

"That..." Darcy trailed off and blinked. "Revenge flirting? That's a thing in spy world?"

Natasha shrugged. "It gets complicated."

"Right." Darcy decided not to ask for details, it would probably be a lot more terrifying than she was prepared for right now. "Just so you know, when I flirt it's because I like someone and would like to know a bit more. Sometimes it's because I need coffee, I'll admit, but right now that's not going to happen so you should assume that I'm flirting for the reason a lot of people flirt."

"You like me?"

The hint of incredulity in Natasha's voice might have been insulting from anyone else. Darcy had a feeling that with Natasha, the idea that someone liked her for being Natasha instead of what she knew or could do was a lot more surprisingly than it should be.

"I like you," Darcy said firmly. "I like everything I know about you so far and I'd like to know more. Not in the spy way. In the 'how do you like your pancakes' way."

"Oh." There was another long pause where Natasha seemed to consider everything carefully before a smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. "Blueberries, syrup, bacon on the side."

Darcy grinned. "A woman after my own heart."

The twitch turned into a full smile and Darcy felt something catch in her throat for a moment. Natasha was beautiful when she smiled like that.

There was a moment Darcy thought - hoped - that Natasha might kiss her and she tried not to feel disappointed when Natasha buried her face into Darcy's neck again. The disappointment went away when she felt Natasha's lips on her skin just above the neckline of her sweater. It might have been an accident but Darcy knew it wasn't.

They lay wrapped around together for a long time. Despite the poncho and Natasha's body heat, Darcy could feel the cold seeping under her skin.

"The chopper isn't coming tonight, is it?" she asked after a while. Her teeth were starting to chatter.

Natasha sighed. "Not until morning. Sorry."

"This is a really bad rescue."

"There were some unexpected complications."

"I thought SHIELD agents were trained for the unexpected?"

There was no reply but Darcy could feel Natasha's lips curving into a smile against her skin. The night got colder and after a while Darcy couldn't resist the lure of sleep.

***

Darcy woke up in SHIELD medical feeling pleasantly warm under a mountain of blankets. There was an IV in the back of her hand and someone was holding her other hand tightly. She turned her head on the pillow and smiled when she saw Natasha's worried expression. Natasha had an IV on a pole next to her and a line running into the crook of her elbow. She looked pale and tired and she was holding three blankets tightly around her shoulders.

Natasha's smile was the most beautiful thing Darcy had ever seen.

"Hey," she said and her voice rasped painfully in her throat.

There was a moment of hesitation, as though Natasha was checking for permission, before she lifted Darcy's hand and kissed her fingers.

"You had everyone worried for a while there," Natasha said. "Apparently you wouldn't let go of me when they tried to get us on the chopper."

Darcy grinned. "I can be pretty determined when I've got something I want to hold onto."

"So it seems."

Her grin widened when Natasha leaned down to kiss her and Darcy sighed into it happily. Natasha's lips were soft without being too gentle and Darcy heard her IV line clatter against something as she raised her hand to cup the back of Natasha's head. The kiss was filled with promise and Darcy hoped they wouldn't be stuck in medical for long because she was looking forward to following up on that promise. She was a little breathless when Natasha pulled away and there was a slight flush in Natasha's pale skin.

Darcy wetted her lips and almost made a play for another kiss but footsteps announced the approach of a nurse. Natasha rolled her eyes and slipped away, mouthing 'later' with a wry smile.

Later was fine. Darcy was going to look forward to later.

Maybe it hadn't been the worst rescue ever after all.


End file.
